There’s nothing like waking up the morning after your work Christmas party, confused and alone (hopefully), too scared to open your eyes, looking at your phone or, God forbid, watching your Instagram Story. That fear that normally sets in as you think back to downing shots with the bar staff is ten-fold. Because, not only did the people you spend 90% of your day sending ‘vis a vis’ emails to actually witness your drunken antics, the people in charge of your entire career did, too.
We all know the drill, at every Christmas work-do there are a multitude of things that can go wrong and all revolve around alcohol. Whether you drink too much and say something you shouldn’t, act a little bit too unprofessional around your boss or you end up too hungover to go into work the next day, there are a ton of rookie errors to be made.
And if you've done it, you're not alone. According to a 2018 poll by AfterDrink.com, 89% of people get drunk at their work Christmas party and over two-thirds say they drank so much their behaviour was negatively impacted.
But are there serious repercussions other than how much foundation you’ll have to wear to cover up your red face on Monday morning? Well, unfortunately, yes there really are.
‘There are cases were people have been dismissed for drunken behaviour at Christmas parties,’ says Lucinda Ryan, HR advisor. ‘If you damage a relationship with your boss there are going to be repercussions.’
Ryan points out the obvious examples, like if you end up in a physical altercation, but she also warns against making inappropriate jokes or doing anything that other teammates would be offended by. ‘I know of a case where someone was suspended for calling everyone in his team a c*nt,’ she says. ‘He was joking, but that doesn’t matter if someone complains, even if it’s outside the office.'
In fact, one in ten of the people AfterDrink.com surveyed say they faced dismissal or disciplinary action after their antics at a Christmas party.
‘You can seriously damage any relationships you have built in your workplace but it depends on the culture of your workplace,’ Ryan says. ‘if someone puts in a grievance based on something you have done at the Christmas party, a warning will be issued.’
Essentially, no matter how many drinks you share with your colleagues, don’t go assuming they’re your new best friends for life – not unless you know for sure your drunken antics won’t offend anyone.
So what about the repercussions of drinking in general, that is: the dreaded hangover? If your work-do is on a weekday, should you even be considering getting drunk knowing you may be super hungover in your morning meeting?
‘You shouldn’t be getting too drunk to work the next day,’ Ryan advises. ‘Christmas parties are still classed as work so if you want to have a good few drinks you should book the day after off as annual leave. If you can’t, don’t get drunk, because technically you can be sacked for being hungover in work.’
Yes, you read that right. All those times you’ve slumped in, tired and weary with last night’s make up on? You’ve got off lucky.
‘If your manager is really strict they could go down a disciplinary route for dereliction of duties,’ Ryan warns. ‘If you are literally sat there doing nothing, depending what else is on your record, you could be dismissed.
‘I’d expect most managers, if they did want to do that, would just a write a written warning but it really depends on the culture of the business and how strict they are,’ she adds.
So, if you are too hungover to get any real work done, it’s probably worth calling in sick. But be warned, if your manager knows your hungover it won’t be classes as a legitimate sick day. ‘It’s self-inflicted,’ Ryan says. ‘So I’d actually advise against being honest about being hungover because it looks really unprofessional.’
Of course, if your boss has seen you the night before downing shots and grinding on Larry the kitchen porter, you might not have much room for excuses. Our personal advice? Get your hangover cure ready before you go out. If you do make one of these rookie mistakes, you’re going to need it to power through the next day without falling asleep at your desk. Or even better? Avoid the dreaded side-eye altogether and bounce early with the few colleagues you can trust – no one capable of promoting you needs to know how many tequila shots you can do before throwing up.
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